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Hellooo beauties! I feel like it has been forever and a day since I have made a post but I am excited to be back in the blogging business! Now that life is back on track, I am more excited than ever to bring you my February favorites. And since I have been gone for so long, a lot of these products have been general winter favorites- including a bunch of new holy grail products. Lets get into it….

1. L’Oreal True Match Lumi Foundation– This is such a great foundation for the dry winter months because it gives me a nice luminous glow without looking like a cake face. I usually mix it with my beloved Revlon Colorstay for some extra coverage and the mix of those both has been amazing.

2. Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette- I originally purchased this palette in the summer but never even paid attention to it. For the past couple weeks I have been using it everyday and am seriously impressed with all the looks I can get out of it. The eye look I have been doing almost every single day is Foxy (matte creme) on my lids and Tease (matte cool brown) in the crease. Sometimes I’ll add Busted into the outer V for some more definition as well. I highly recommend this palette over the Naked 1- especially if you are into neutral shades.

3. Kat Von D Tattoo Liner- I honestly don’t know how I went through life without this liner. It’s super black, with a very thin tip and it makes application so easy. I think it was about $20 at Sephora and worth every penny.

4. Maybelline Illegal Length Mascara- If you need some serious lengthening for your lashes, you need to get your hands on this mascara! When wearing this I have been asked several times if I was wearing fake lashes- what a compliment.

5. Josie Maran Argon Oil- I’m sure you are familiar with the oil craze in the beauty world. I finally gave into thise product and am pretty glad I did. It has become a staple in my nighttime routine as I usually put some on my cuticles and run it through my hair for some nourishment. I have heard that you can use it as a face moisturizer too but I havent been ballsy enough to try that yet!

6. Revlon Photo Ready Perfecting Primer- I picked this up on a whim at Rite Aid when Revlon products were 40% off. To my surprise, it has quickly become my favorite face primer as of this moment and has a very similar consistency to the Too Face Poreless Primer. It leaves my makeup looking matte without making me cakey- and I absolutely love it!

7. L’Oreal Eye Quad in 806 Canyon Stone- So I had been lusting over the Urban Decay Naked Basics palette for weeks and every time I went into Sephora and swatched it I just couldn’t get myself to pay $27 for 5 neutral colors. I then roamed around the drugstore and came across this baby…4 all matte neutral brown shades. I have been using this quad every single day without hesitation and it is so refreshing to just do a simple matte eye look…I’m kinda over the shimmery colors.

8. Tarte Creaseless Clean Slate Eye Primer- First of all, why must they create the most obnoxiously long names for a simple eye primer? Other than that, this product has been awesome along with my MAC painterly paint pot as a base for any eye look. It stands up wonderfully on my oily eye lids!

9. Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso- What is a monthly favorites without a blush, right? I have raved before about how awesome these baked blushes are and the color Luminoso surely does not disappoint. It is beautiful shimmery peach with gold shimmer. The thing I love the most is that as soon as it is applied to the skin the shimmer doesn’t even show up but leaves a gorgeous sheen on the skin.

That is all for this month! Be on the lookout for more product reviews to come!

You might be thinking…dupe? What in the world is a dupe? Well if you are new to the beauty world I’ll give you a little run down. A dupe is basically a product that is very similar or identical to another; an alternative. This usually means that the dupe may be a drugstore brand or just something that is cheaper and sometimes even better to the original product.

I absolutely love reading these types of posts and watching dupe comparison videos! There’s nothing better than getting a good product for a fraction of the cost. Here is a list of dupes that I have compiled through some research and my own testing:

1. Revlon Pink Pout & MAC Snob

2. Wet n Wild Pinkerbell & MAC Viva Glam Nicki

3. Wet n Wild eye shadow in “Nutty” & MAC Satin Taupe- If you do not own either of these, I highly suggest you pick up it! This shadow is a cult favorite, and is great to wear all over the lid to give your eyes some depth.

Happy May everyone! I hope you’re all as excited as me for the summer! I discovered a ton of great products this month even though I have been keeping my makeup routine at a minimum. With the semester winding down and finals quickly approaching, I haven’t had much time to experiment as much as I like. Here are the products that I’ve been loving:

FACE

Maybelline Super Stay Liquid Foundation: I previously raved about the Revlon colorstay, but this foundation even beats that. I think why I love it so much is that it is more of a color match for my face and is such an awesome formula. It helps control oil all day and even lasted through my evening workout at the gym without budging (Normally I wouldn’t wear makeup to the gym but I was coming from work). If you are a fan of the color stay foundation I highly suggest you give this one a try!

Monistat Soothing Care Chaffing Gel: I know, I know you’re probably thinking why in the world would I put a chaffing gel on my face? My boyfriend looked at me like I had 3 heads when he saw this in my bathroom; but what do they know anyway, right? 😉 Well I have heard many people raving about this as a primer! It turns out that the active ingredient in this gel is the same as in high-end primers. To be honest, if you put a MAC label on this you would have no idea that it wasn’t a primer. It goes on super smooth and leaves such a nice flawless finish underneath of foundation and powder. Trust me on this, just try it and see for yourself.

MAC Skinfinish Natural: This has always been my holy grail powder, and I don’t think I will ever be able to live without it! Flawless finish every time I use it.

Revlon Cream Blush in “Pinched”: This is part of Revlon’s new Gucci Westman Collection. I have never owned a cream blush because to be quite frank, they scare me. I just think it is so much easier swoosh some powder on your cheeks but this has totally transformed my thoughts on cream blush. First of all, this color is GORGEOUS- it’s a bright peach that blends in so well. There were three colors, all are bright, but from what I have heard they might look intimidating but they all blend in amazingly. I only purchased one, but I plan on going back for a second one because I’m hooked! To see the full Gucci Westman collection click here: http://www.revlon.com/Revlon-Home/Featured-Collection/Escapism.aspx

EYES

L’Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes: The name of this mascara does exactly that, it makes you look like you have a million lashes. I normally am not fond of rubber bristles but the formula on this makes lashes look so long and volumized! I used to use Lancome’s Definicils mascara and this is a very close dupe to that.

Jordana Fabuliner in Black: I remember using this felt-tip eyeliner in high school because it was so cheap ($1.99 at Walgreens) and I just rediscovered it. I honestly don’t know why I ever stopped using it! The felt tip is so saturated, so easy to work with and gives the best dark, matte finish. If you are not a fan of liquid eyeliner or have a hard time with gel eyeliner, TRY THIS. I promise you it’s amazing, and especially for the price!

LIPS

Revlon Lip Butters: With everything going on this month, I have been super lazy and just grabbing these lip butters. Specific favorite colors have been sweet tart (hot pink), Lollipop (bright fuscia) – I get tons of compliments when I wear this one, and last but not least Creme Brulee (champagne nude). I love these because they are super moisturizing and pigmented and give a nice sheen to the lips.

PERFUME

Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue: I have always had this perfume in my cabinet and every couple months I forget it exists and then rediscover it and fall in love all over again. It is the perfect every day scent; very crisp and clean and lasts for hours. And with this one, I always have people ask me what I’m wearing because it smells so good!

JEWELRY

Michael Kors Oversized Runway Watch in gold- If you follow me on twitter or instagram you would know that I stalked this watch out because it was sold out for a while at Nordstrom and Michael Kors. I have 2 other Michael Kors watches and think they are a fantastic quality and durability. They are a bit pricey, but they are beyond worth it. If you are a person who wears a watch every day like me, you will get years of use from it. The style is a classic, and I know I’ll be wearing it forever! I have also been stacking different bracelets and bangles on my wrist with it, a look that I also love!

And thats it for my favorites. Like I said, I wasn’t able to experiment with any eye shadows or things like that but I am excited over this month’s discoveries!

In my journey to find the latest and greatest products I have also stumbled into a bunch that I wasn’t a fan of. Nothing annoys me more than when a company advertises a product and claims that it will do various things and it ends up not being able to live up to its hype. These following products I have had for about 2 months, plenty of time for me to fall in love (or in this case hate) with them.

1. Physicians Formula Happy Booster Bronzer: I had previously purchased the blush and really have been enjoying using it. It has great color and and the texture allows for easy blending on top of my powder; it also smells really good. But I was so dissapointed with this bronzer! There is virtually no color payoff, the colors look great in the pan but barely get on the brush (I was vigorously swooshing and stabbing it just so I could get some product). So after going through every possible brush I own, I gave up.

2. Benefit Ooh La Lift Instant Under Eye Brightener: I have always been a fan of benefit products and found them to be pretty affordable and of good quality. I had high hopes for it but after using it every day for weeks I noticed NO difference. Literally nothing. I might as well have applied nothing under my eyes because that’s what it seemed like. The consistency is nice and it penetrates into the skin fairly quick but like I said, it didn’t brighten or conceal or reduce dark under eye circles or anything. What a bummer!

3. MAC Benefit Fix +: I feel like I am going to anger a lot of MAC lovers with this one- seriously what’s the point of this product? I purchased it because so many people raved about it and used it as a makeup set or as a way to liven up your face. This did nothing for making my makeup stay on longer or reduce oil and keep my face matte all day. I tried reeeeaaaally hard to love it but I just can’t! I have also heard people using it on their hair to add a little shine and oomph, so maybe I’ll do that.

I guess it’s true what they say, you can’t win ’em all right? But if you have any suggestions with these products or ones that work better than them, please let me know!